


Love Bites

by tryslora



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Community: fullmoon_ficlet, Concerts, F/M, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-10
Updated: 2014-12-10
Packaged: 2018-02-28 20:55:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2746727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tryslora/pseuds/tryslora
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>No one really understands why the song for the first dance at their wedding is about how much love sucks. It makes sense to them, and that’s all they need to know.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Love Bites

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: references to an asshole boy trying to take advantage of Claudia
> 
> This was originally written for Prompt #97 - Hysteria at fullmoon_ficlet. I am pretty sure this is not what the prompt intended, but as a child of the 80s, the moment I saw the prompt I was ear wormed. So I did a little research, decided things could fit into a restructured head canon, and here I am, going for it. Whee! Hopefully y’all can see the connection to the prompt. As always, I do not own the world nor characters of Teen Wolf, I just like to play with them.

He notices her for the first time when she’s sitting in a stairwell of the coliseum, her eyes wet and dark with dripping blue mascara, her hair a tangled mess that escapes from her ponytail to fall around her face. Her shoulders shake and her fingers shudder where they are covering her face, elbows on her knees. Her t-shirt is white with stains of dirt, and her ponytail looks like the bow used to be neat, once upon a time, but now the bright blue is off-kilter and tangled in her crimped hair.

She’s upset, and she needs help, and that’s all that John thinks of as he crouches next to her, giving her as much space as he can when she flinches.

“I don’t want to hurt you,” he says quietly, voice pitched to try to be private but still be heard over the thumping bass of the concert going on. “Do you need help?”

When she looks up and rubs a hand across her face, smudging her makeup even more, he recognizes her. “You’re Evan Kowalczyk’s little sister,” he says, and she wrinkles her nose and laughs, bitterly.

“Yes, I’m Evan’s little sister. I’m the little girl who wants to be old enough and strong enough _so much_ that my brother’s asshole friends think they can take advantage.” Each word drops like a stone into the air, heavy with conviction. “Well, they can just go suck each other off, because there is no way in fucking hell that I will _ever_ get in a car with them again.”

John’s pretty sure he missed most of what she said, but the implication leaves him angry with his classmates. “Do you need me to go beat up an asshole? Your brother and his friends are bigger than me, but I could still do some damage.” He’s been training in martial arts ever since he saw _The Karate Kid_ three years ago (and he’s glad to have found out that it’s neither all _wax-on, wax-off_ , nor all chest-thumping testosterone anger). He might not be a football player or a basketball player, but he can take care of himself and he can come to her defense as well.

She smiles shakily, and he realizes that while her eyes are a bright red from tears, they are also a deep, dark blue-ish brown. It’s not a color he can quantify, shifting from the center blue to a warm amber around that and a deeper brown at the very edge. He could get lost in those eyes if he’s not careful, and this isn’t that kind of moment. He clears his throat to bring himself back to center, and she ducks her head.

“My brother doesn’t even know I’m here,” she admits. “It’s Bobby McGurdy, and he’s an asshole, yes, but I might have possibly stuck my heel in the top of his foot and it is very probable that my elbow met his dick more than once. I’m pretty sure when he said _touch me baby_ , he didn’t mean it like that.”

John can’t help the way he laughs out loud. “You don’t need a knight in shining armor,” he says, and she grins at him.

“I don’t,” she agrees, and even though she is disheveled, she isn’t _hurt_ and he’s thankful for that. “But I do need cab fare, because I can’t call my parents to pick me up because they don’t know I”m here, either.”

“If he’s that much of an asshole, why was he worth sneaking out for?”

She shrugs one shoulder. “The challenge?” It’s a lie though, from the way she ducks her head away and won’t look at him. “Okay, so maybe I’ve had a crush on him since seventh grade, and when he decided to notice me now that I’m in high school, I figured _hey_ , I’ve got a chance. So when he asked me to the Def Leppard concert, I said sure. I mean, how else was I going to get here? I’m only a freshman: I don’t have the money for tickets, or a car. He’s cute, I thought we’d probably make out a little and it’d be fun. And I kind of really liked him.”

“Past tense?”

She shudders. “Definitely past tense.” She glances sideways at him. “So. I’m Claudia. And I’ve seen you around Beacon Hills High.”

“John Stilinski.” He holds out his hand and she takes it, clasping it lightly for just a moment before he remembers to take his hand back. “I’m a senior—same Physics class as your brother—and I could have told you that Bobby’s an asshole, but no one ever really listens.”

“What about you?”

“I hope I’m not an asshole.” He makes a face because he _tries_ , but if he’s honest, maybe he _is_ an ass sometimes. In the end he can’t be perfectly sure either way. “What I _can_ do is offer you a ride home after the concert. And if you want to go back in and listen, I’ll guard you in the crush.”

“Can I trust you?” Her expression is wide open and waiting, and he nods, throat feeling rough and full as he agrees.

Her hand slips into his, and they go back into the crush together, just in time to hear the opening strains of a song. Claudia looks at him, and her grin is pure mischief as she yells out, “Love bites!” and they both sing along.

Six years later, no one really understands why the song for the first dance at their wedding is about how much love sucks. Claudia sings the words softly to John as they spin around the dance floor, and what everyone else thinks doesn’t matter. It makes sense to them, and that’s all they need to know.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me [on tumblr](http://tryslora.tumblr.com)!


End file.
